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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: trunk · face · wax · bulb · mine · dip · degree · lean

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. face — part of the head
  4. face — to confront
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. lean — to bend
  8. lean — thin
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. bulb — for light
  11. dip — to sink
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. degree — from a university
  15. mine — for digging
  16. wax — to grow
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. degree — temperature
  19. degree — an amount
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. face — to point toward
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. bulb — for light

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com